I figured since disassembling an Action Owner's Elite diecast was such an arduous task, I'd do a little how to write up on it. The car on the chopping block is a 2007 Denny Hamlin Chevy Monte Carlo test car. These first few shots show just how detailed the car is, and yes this car is #204 of 2,007.

OK Now on to the main part. The first thing we need to do is gain access to all 4 chassis screws. You can see in the above pic that the rear screws are not a problem. The fronts however are a different story. You will need a small flathead screwdriver to get underneath and lift up on the "sheetmetal" covering the screws. Be very careful as the glue is fairly strong. You don't want to break anything.

Next on the agenda is the photoetched grille. Using your same small screwdriver, get underneath one corner and gently lift up. THere isn't much glue holding this down so it should come off rather easy.

Now we move on to the hood pins and trunklid pins. The small flathead screwdriver can be used here as well as a razor blade. The blade works really well. You have to get under these a tad and lift/pry up. Keep them covered though as they will pop off and fly if you let them. I had one fly off and luckily I found it. These are very delicate and you can mess them up if not careful.

Now we turn our attention to the small driver side glass that allows fresh air in. This may not seem like it is needed now but it will come in very handy. All you have to do is put some slight pressure on the "glass" to break it free and then lift it out.

It's hard to see in this pic, but the reason we take the "glass" out now is to remove the steering shaft from the "J" hook on the bottom side of the dash when we are ready to remove the chassis.

This is all for now as some of my other tools that I need are at home and not on my desk here at work. I will post more photos later tonight.

OK Let's move on to day 2. This next process is probably gonna be the hardest aspect of taking apart an Elite car. You will need a Dremel or similar with a cutter bit like I have shown. THe first area to tackle is the hood and then the trunk. First you need to grind down the rivet for the tether brackets, Then the same for the hood hinge brackets. Next do the same for the trunklid. All you have to do it take the rivet down flush with the bracket. This will leave you a small nub to locate on for reassembly. Be careful with your Dremel and don't let it walk on you. Once completed you can see what it should looke like.

Now we will move on the removing the hood. Turn the car over and insert your small phillips screwdriver, into the engine bay to access the hinge screws. Remove these and the hood will come right off. I like to take the screws and reinsert them into the hood so I do not lose them.

Next we move on to the steering wheel. Using a nice long pair of tweezers, grab the steering wheel shaft and lift it up and out of the "J" hook on the dash. (Once I got the body off, I discovered this is not necessary. The dash stays with the chassis unlike the regular Action cars so this step is not necessary.)

Now let's move on to the big part, the chassis. Remove the 4 main chassis screws. Once removed, the chassis and body should separate with no trouble whatsoever.

With the chassis removed, we can see what we are left to deal with, some more screws and some more rivets.

Look at the chassis detail for these Elite cars. Amazing.

Let's remove the hood hinges from the body now. Insert the screws back into the body so they are not lost down the road.

Next we move to the trunklid. Remove the screws for the lid and hinges, and then reinstall them into their corresponding part. You now have a separated trunklid.

Now let's take off the roof cam. Remove all of the surrounding glue and then pop the camera out of the roof.

The windshield is next on the agenda. First you need to put some light pressure on the cowl area and push out to "unlock" the locating tabs. Next you can use a small flathead screwdriver to pop the metal straps off their locators (This may require the Dremel if the locator head is too big for the strap to pass over.). Now pull the windshield forward and you will have successfully removed it.

On to the back window. The two plastic tabs have some glue that needs to be broken loose. I found the razor blade worked best here. Next remove the metal strap from its locator (I had to use the Dremel on this one.). Pull the glass out the back and you are done with the window.

Now we have to remove the side glass and roof flap retainers. This requires the Dremel again to grind down the rivet heads. Once removed you can apply light pressure and possibly some prying from the flathead screwdriver to the windows and they should pop free. Turn the roof flap sideways to slide it through the body and you have everything removed from the main body.

The roof flaps must now be separated from the windows. Take your razor blade and very carefully work underneath the tethers to break the glue to the roof flap. Do this 4 times and you have them removed.

The last step is probably the most delicate, removing the spoiler braces. The best way is to take a pair of tweezers, grab the base of the brace and move from side to side to break the glue bond. You will have to do this to both ends of the brace. Be careful, I broke one spoiler brace.

Now look at this fine picture. A disassembled Action Owner's Elite car. Now all that's let is to give it a bath in your favorite paint stripper, wash, prime, paint, decal, reassemble, and you have yourself a nice diecast custom.

Thanks Brandon, that's great info. Just what this old guy needs, straight
forward instructions & lot's of close-up pictures. Thanks again. I do have
a question that's sorta related. On some of my older diecasts I want to
remove the old hood arms, and make hinges instead. My problem is
finding a source for micro rivets. Can anybody help me out in that dept.?
Thanks! RICK

Thanks Brandon, that's great info. Just what this old guy needs, straight
forward instructions & lot's of close-up pictures. Thanks again. I do have
a question that's sorta related. On some of my older diecasts I want to
remove the old hood arms, and make hinges instead. My problem is
finding a source for micro rivets. Can anybody help me out in that dept.?
Thanks! RICK

To Rick G.
I did one of these conversions, and because I won't be doing another real soon, and because I got this particular car for nothing. I chose to keep my investment small. I purchased a length of 1.5ml hollow-core brass rod. After drilling out the rivet, as opposed to grinding off the end, I cut a short lenght of the rod, inserted the short length into the mountnig hole, then sputnik'd each end with a brad nail.

I'd still like to know what you die casters are doing for modifying the front ride height. I've got a 2005 Intrepid that's got a serious off-road ride height that detracts from the appearance. The MC's are fine, the Intrepids are not. Removing the springs have been the apparent quickest fix...but come-on?!_________________Ron Krueger
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